DC4, the Los Angeles-based hard rock band featuring former DIO guitarist Rowan Robertson alongside brothers Jeff Duncan (ARMORED SAINT, ODIN) on lead vocals and guitar, Shawn Duncan (ODIN) on drums and Matt Duncan on bass, have finalized the track list for their forthcoming album, “Explode”. The band is shooting for a late August or early September release date and are currently considering several interested labels. However, the band will actually offer fans the first 1000 copies of the album for purchase at their Myspace page. The track list will feature the following 10 songs:

I couldn’t think of another release more appropriate to start up the new Classic Metal Reviews feature, than AC/DC’s. Back In Black.

Whether you like them or not, few band’s have experienced the level of success that AC/DC has achieved. AC/DC’s Back In Black has sold over 42 million units worldwide, making it one of the must successful releases in music history. Most bands would be happy if their entire catalog sold this amount.

After the death of Bon Scott, the band soldiered on. No one knew how this release would turn out. This is the band’s first disc featuring singer Brian Johnson. With Mutt Lange at the helm as producer, the band crafted their most popular release ever.

From the opening bells of Hells Bells, you know this is going to be a classic record. It is rare for me to listen to a whole CD all the way through, and not have a song or two that I don’t like. This is not the the case with Back in Black.

I love all of the songs on this disc, by my absolute favorites are Shoot To Thrill, Back In Black, You Shook Me All Night Long, Have A Drink on Me, and Shake a Leg.

This is a disc that stands up well, and does not sound dated in 2007. I can’t think of one thing I would change on this record.

It is a hard rock/metal landmark release that no collection should be without. If you don’t own this, what are you waiting for. 42 Million people can’t be wrong!

Rating:Out of 10

Track Listing:
1. Hells Bells
2. Shoot To Thrill
3. What Do You Do For Money Honey
4. Givin The Dog A Bone
5. Let Me Put My Love Into You
6. Back In Black
7. You Shook Me All Night Long
8. Have A Drink On Me
9. Shake A Leg
10. Rock And Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution

Jon Bon Jovi thinks the name of an energy drink sounds too much like his name. And he wants the owner of the “Mijovi” energy drink to change its name.

The creator of the coffee-based energy drink says it’s named after his own girlfriend — Jovita — and not the 45-year-old rocker.

Bon Jovi’s lawyer has written the man a letter objecting to the phrases “itsmijovi” and “itsmilife” — words that appear in the company’s marketing materials and on the can. He notes that 1 of Bon Jovi’s most popular songs is entitled `It’s My Life.'”

The drink maker he’s willing to stop using “itsmilife” on cans, but says he’s keeping the name Mijovi.

Comment: Hopefully this energy drink doesn’t suck as much as Lost Highway.

After the success of Atreyugame.com, the band has now posted “Becoming the Bull” on their Myspace. “Becoming The Bull” is the first single off the new album, Lead Sails Paper Anchor which hits stores on August 28th. The band kicked off the Family Values tour in St. Louis July 20th. For more information on the Family Values tour and to check out “Becoming The Bull” go to www.myspace.com/atreyurock

Comment: The new song is kind of cool. I hope they do a video for this song.

Whether it was over saturation of the hair metal music market, or the introduction of grunge, Jesse Strange’s self titled debut is a release that vanished off the face of the earth almost as quickly as it got released. I was finally able to replace my old cassette with a shiny new CD, so I decided to give this one a few spins this week.

Fans of 80’s hard rock should eat up these tunes that I would describe a cross between Great White, Kix and Steelheart.

This is a solid debut by this four piece band featuring Grant Tibor on Lead Vocals, Scott Migone on Guitar, Paul Trust on Drums and Keyboards, and Danny Lullie on Bass.

This is a fun disc, full of fat guitar riffs, sing along choruses, and overall very good pop metal tunes. It is almost comical how this CD falls into that typical late 8o’s formula of two big rockers and a ballad. Raise A Little Hell, and Love on the Telephone are quite good, and the power ballad Make a Wish, should have made this band a household name. This song was penned by Jesse Harms (Sammy Hagar, Eddie Money, REO Speedwagon). Strangely enough, Beau Nasty did this song as well, but this version is better.

After the first three tracks, I found myself starting to lose interest, so I decided to spin the disc again later to be fair.

On the second pass, I liked Silver Screen a lot more. The guitar work of Scott Migone is superb on this track. Weekend Tonight is another fun sing songy tune. This reminds me a lot of some of Poison’s earlier tracks. I couldn’t really get into Coyote Morning, but I do like Down and Dirty. This song kind of reminds me of Heaven’s Edge a little bit.

Living Without Your Love could have been a better song with a little work, but after hearing this a second time, it sounds kind of generic. Dancing with Strangers didn’t work for me either. This song was good until it got to the chorus, and it went down hill from there.

The Last Goodbye closes this disc with a piano based power ballad. This is another song that needed a little more polish. It is very good musically, but the lyrics should have been arranged so that it was more of a sing along type song. Instead, singer Grant Tabor gets a few Steve Whiteman like screeches in.

A big name producer could have taken this album and rearranged some parts, and improved this album greatly. This debut was produced by the band, and some of the songs lack the punch they needed. As a whole, there are certainly some good songs on this release, which makes it a disc for hair metal fans to seek out.

The band released a new CD in 2006, with all of their unreleased material called Looking For Some Strange. The band is not currently together. Grant Tibor has turned up in a new band called The Blackstone Project, while Scott Migone is a Florida based band called Philth.

You can pick up used copies of this out of print disc for less than $10.00 off of Amazon.com and EBay. At that price, it is hard to pass this one up.

To hear more songs off this disc, click on the highlighted songs below, or visit the band’s myspace page here.

A Nervous Wreck and The Erotics came to Cincinnati, Wednesday night to the club, Topcats.

This was a poorly promoted show and the maximum attendance was 15 people at best.

Nonetheless, A Nervous Wreck took the stage, and played as if there were 500 people standing in front of them. They played a very tight set with a few originals, and some Motley Crue and Guns ‘N Roses cover tunes.

They did a great job getting the small crowd warmed up for The Erotics.

I had the chance to talk to singer Shane Mosley before the show, and he was one of the most down to earth rockers that I have met in while. I will make sure to catch them live again, when I see they are playing close to me.

I discovered The Erotics in 2006, when I heard their EP, Rock N Roll Killing Machine. I have never seen these guys live, so I did not know what to expect, other than some great tunes.

After talking to The Erotics drummer, Johnny Riott, I found out that this was The Erotics first trip to Cincinnati. I am glad I was one of the few that took the time out to see them live.

The Erotics played a great set that included songs off of all of their releases. The is a partial set list:

21st Century S.O.B., Got Drunk Again, Rock N Roll Killing Machine, Drop The Bomb, DrinkFight and Fuck (See Below for Video), and a couple of tracks off of their band new CD, 30 Seconds Over You. I didn’t keep track of them all. I was too busy taking pictures and enjoying the music.

I was very impressed with The Erotics. Singer Mike Trash was belting out the sleaze filled tunes with ease. Rachel Toxic is a kick ass guitar player. The rhythm section of Billy Beer on bass, and Johnny Riott on Drums were equally impressive.

This was a high energy show full of sleaze and killer rock, that I only thought was possible from the bands on the west coast.

After the show, the band hung around and talked to the fans and signed autographs, and as a whole were extremely cool to be around.

The Erotics depart Cincinnati, and make the long 17 hour trek to San Antonio, Texas. Don’t miss them when they hit your town!

They Rock!

The video below, is the first video that I took with my Digital Camera. The sound quality isn’t all that great, but it still turned out pretty cool. Check it Out!

The five piece Minnesota band formerly known as Skywynd, has changed their name to Crash Anthem, and released a new disc, Inside A Red Room. Candlebox singer, Kevin Martin produced this 10 track disc.

Inside A Red Room, is a very polished sounding modern hard rock record. Crash Anthem is one of the better, new U.S. hard rock acts I have heard in a while. They are melodic, without falling into the bass heavy trap that so many new mainstream acts are stuck in today.

Singer, Walter Joseph’s vocals are clean, and easy to listen to. The keyboards give the songs an almost alternative touch, but do not over power the tracks. Most importantly, all of the 10 songs on Inside A Red Room rock hard!

Catch Me If you Can is an energetic rocker. I love the rhythm on this song. The cowbells mixed with the drumming give this song a lot of energy. This is a very cool way to start off this disc.

Favorite Things is a very upbeat song. This song kind of reminds me of what Velvet Revolver is doing today, and may be a little better than that.

Me, Myself and You is a cool moody rocker. This song rocks hard but has a very nice layer of keyboards. Good Stuff!

I love the crunching guitars on Red Room. This song is heavy enough to get you head banging, but he keyboards level it out. As a whole, it is another superb track.

Walter Joseph belts out the notes in a higher pitch on Typical People. This track could easily be a hit on rock radio.

I could not get into A Time for the Kill. This song has a couple of U2 like moments, but I think it drags on a little too much. Biggest Letdown on the other hand is not a letdown at all. This one of the heavier tracks on Inside A Red Room. It is short, but a it is worth hearing. This up tempo rocker is one of my favorites on this record.

Walter Joseph’s vocals on Follow the Leader remind me of someone else greatly, especially during the song chorus, but I haven’t been able to figure out who. I like this song a lot.

Life Story is a multi tempo number that has heavy and melodic parts. I played this one three times in a row after my first listen to it. Cool song!

Wrecking Ball is another song that tends to drag on a little bit. It has a nice guitar solo in the middle by Brian Adams, but the Piano piece in the middle of the song by Jon Storm seems out of place.

As a whole, I really enjoyed Inside A Red Room. Crash Anthem is a band that has a lot of radio potential. It is only a matter of time before this band gets the mainstream success they deserve.

For more information on Crash Anthem, check out their myspace page here. Thanks to Ashley Hodges for turning me onto this band! You can preview a couple of the new tracks below.

You can purchase In A Red Room for a mere $10.00, online at the following link. Check it out!

German Melodic Metal Masters JADED HEART are putting finishing touches to their brand new studio opus entitled “Sinister Mind”. The band welcomes on board for the first official recording session the new guitar player Peter Ostros. He contributed to the songwriting of the new record and brought a lot of fresh new ideas on the table.

“Sinister Mind” is being produced and mixed with the collaboration of some of the top names in the German scene: Michael Voss (Mad Max, Voices Of Rock), Chris Lausmann (ex-Bonfire, Voices Of Rock) and Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69).

The new album will be featuring more musical varieties than ever, so JADED HEART will definitely win many more fans. Of course, JADED HEART will be touring again the streets of Europe by bringing this new record to the fans by playing live again.

Frontiers Records plans the European release on the album on October 19th, with further details to be announced shortly !

NEW YORK (AP) — Much of the rock ‘n’ roll and pop canon is well established.

Buying the albums of `60s and `70s acts like the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley is akin to a rite of passage for any young music fan. These are the artists that baby boomers love to keep buying, and with whom seemingly every teenager at some point experiments. (Remember A.J. hearing Bob Dylan for the first time in the “Sopranos” finale?)

Now that the `80s and `90s are ancient history, what albums are people still buying from those decades? Do critical favorites like Radiohead and the Pixies grow more popular with time? Or do the Backstreet Boys and Madonna still rule the charts?

AC/DC’s “Back in Black” (1980) last year sold 440,000 copies and has thus far sold 156,000 this year, according to the Nielsen SoundScan catalog charts, which measure how well physical albums older than two years old are selling. (All figures for this article were provided by Nielsen SoundScan.)

Those “Back in Black” numbers would make most contemporary CDs a success. Metallica’s self-titled 1991 album is altogether the second-biggest selling album of the Nielsen SoundScan era, which began in 1991. “Metallica” sold 275,000 copies last year.

Bon Jovi’s greatest hits collection “Cross Road” last year sold 324,000 copies, while Guns ‘N Roses “Appetite for Destruction” (1987) sold 113,000. The Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s “Christmas Eve and Other Stories” (1996) continues to be a holiday favorite; it was bought 289,000 times last year.

Greatest hits compilations are counted as catalog releases, and account for the majority of vintage best-sellers. Artists that commercially peaked in the `80s or `90s that have had lucrative best-of collections include Garth Brooks, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tim McGraw, Creed, Queen, Tom Petty, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Def Leppard, Aerosmith and Lionel Richie.

U2, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, Celine Dion, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Dave Matthews Band and the ever-touring Jimmy Buffett also all continue to sell large amounts of old records.

Michael Jackson, of course, still has one of the most desirable back catalogs. His best- selling “Thriller” moves over 60,000 copies a year and his “Number Ones” collection yielded 162,000 sales last year.

Avid fans may be buying everything their favorite artist puts out, but there’s more than nostalgia fueling vintage sales.

“Young fans aren’t excluded from catalog sales – especially the ones who really get interested in music, there’s always that sense of discovery,” says Geoff Mayfield, the director of charts at Billboard Magazine.

Not everything maintains long-term success. Asia’s self-titled 1982 album was the biggest seller of 1982, but only sold 5,000 copies last year. Whitney Houston’s 1985 debut, also self-titled, was 1986’s top album, but now sells about 7,000 discs a year.

The same trajectory has befallen past mega-hits like Ace of Base’s “The Sign,” Bobby Brown’s “Don’t Be Cruel” and the Spice Girl’s “Spice.” Though one of the best selling artists of all time, Mariah Carey’s self-titled debut sold a measly 5,000 copies last year. The Backstreet Boys’ “Millennium” managed only 9,000 sales.

Alas, the turning wheel of fortune isn’t always kind to boy bands.

“The only thing that kept coming to mind to me was that line in the Bruce Springsteen song: `Someday we’ll look back at this and it will all seem funny,'” recalls Rolling Stone senior editor David Fricke.

Now, some critical hits that were trounced on their initial release by the likes of ‘N Sync can claim a measure of commercial superiority. The Flaming Lips’ “Soft Bulletin,” often hailed as one of the best albums of the `90s by critics, sold a solid 38,000 copies last year.

Radiohead’s legendary “OK Computer,” currently celebrating its 10-year anniversary, last year sold 94,000 copies. Nirvana’s “Nevermind” has done even better; it sold 143,000 copies in 2006.

Current events can alter the charts. When Ray Charles died, his older albums spiked for months, says Mayfield. A new album from Alanis Morissette would surely increase sales of her 1995 disc “Jagged Little Pill,” one of the best selling albums of the past 20 years.

Likewise, recent reunions of the Police and Genesis can be expected to increase sales of their catalogs. The Police’s 1986 compilation “Every Breath You Take” has already doubled its already strong 2006 sales by selling 107,000 copies so far this year.

Still, many albums that are consistently revered on critic top-ten lists of the `80s and `90s have not sold much. Joy Division’s “Closer,” the Smiths’ “The Queen is Dead,” My Bloody Valentine’s “Loveless,” and REM’s “Murmur” all sold 12,000 copies or less last year.

Labels often reissue classic releases to capitalize on the devotion of die-hard fans and to attract a new audience. In the past few years, revered indie label Matador Records has released Pavement’s first three albums, including “Slanted and Enchanted,” a disc frequently ranked among the best in the `90s.

“It’s almost like a new release for us,” says Matador founder Chris Lombardi. “We probably sold in a one-year period, pretty much what those records sold in their first year period when they were initially released.”

Though hip-hop continues to rule today’s charts, many of its most historic albums don’t enjoy the catalog sales that those from rock’s heyday do. Public Enemy’s “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back” sold 15,000 copies last year; Beastie Boys’ “Paul’s Boutique” sold 22,000; and Run DMC’s “Raising Hell” sold far less than both.

So far this year, catalog sales are down 11.7 percent, but that’s stronger than overall sales, which are down 14.7 percent, according to Billboard. It’s a major portion of the music business. This year’s total catalog sales of 95.6 million copies accounts for about 40 percent of all albums sold physically.

When people switched from cassette tapes to compact discs, catalog sales received a windfall as people re-bought their collections. The onset of digital downloading hasn’t had that affect because CDs can easily be downloaded to your iPod, but digital stores do have the advantage of unlimited (virtual) store space to sell older music.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has pegged catalog downloads as 64 percent of all download sales in the U.S. (Apple declined to share its iTunes data on catalog sales.)

That still leaves illegal downloads unaccounted for, as well as a more important quantity: cultural impact. Though bands like Sonic Youth, the Ramones and Public Enemy may never sell as much as other acts, their influence remains immeasurable.

“Impact is not strictly about sales,” says Fricke. “Otherwise everyone would be running around forming bands that sound exactly like Poison.”

“Another year, another location, so time now methinks for another WAYSTED album. Don’t you? This time round the classic line-up are back together: Pete Way, Fin (vocals), Chris George (guitar) and Paul Haslin (drums).

“Yes, Chris George has returned, but terms and conditions do apply and Pete has been made fully aware of them. Currently they are holed up somewhere on the south coast (U.K.) putting the finishing touches to a set of brand new songs, before entering the studio in two weeks to record the harsh reality due for release on U.K.’s Livewire Records in early October. Beware! Live dates will be announced in the near future. So there. Keep it sweet.”

Los Angeles — Juan Croucier of RATT fame has joined forces with Carlos Cavazo (formerly of QUIET RIOT) to complete the lineup of his band.The band also includes John Medina on Drums (formerly of Bret Michaels’ solo band).

Rehearsals have been underway and the band is now ready to play shows throughout the US and abroad.“John and I have been searching a long time for the right ingredient to this band.Being a three-piece band, the guitar player was critical.To cut the field even more, you had to be able to sing really well too.Over the course of the last six months we auditioned quite a few guitar players.While doing that, I developed a very short list of exceptional professional musicians that I believed held truly unique and special talents.Among others on that list was Carlos Cavazo.I contacted him and we hit if off right away, we then played together for the first time and presto!The band was indeed complete.I know band chemistry and I know when something is special, this is special; an absolute musical paradigm shift!We’re looking forward to bringing the music to the people.”— Juan Croucier

(Los Angeles) July 17, 2007 – Executives from MTV along with sister company Pocket Books (a division of Simon & Schuster) held a press conference in a new venue, Crash Mansion, in downtown Los Angeles to give the media and a few lucky fans a preview of Nikki Sixx’s book & soundtrack CD, The Heroin Diaries. The presentation was hosted by Billboard Magazine editor Tamara Conniff, and featured the Mötley Crüe bassist along with several project partners. In introducing Sixx, Conniff called the book “the most addictive Rock & Roll take since The Dirt.” Sixx then revealed to a packed room of reporters and camera crews that the book was based on the actual diaries he kept during the height of his crippling heroin addiction in the late ’80’s along with commentary by a host of people including his Crüe band-mates, Vanity (his girlfriend at the time), Slash and a host of former associates. “I felt the book wasn’t complete without other people’s perspective and opinions on what I was like as an addict,” said Sixx. “They would tell me if I was full of sh*t.” Simon & Schuster Deputy Publisher Anthony Ziccardi, in describing what drew him to the book, called the Heroin Diaries “the most brutally honest and revealing account of drug abuse ever written.” Ziccardi also referenced the unique graphical design of the book by artist and photographer Paul Brown.

Media and guests were also treated to a preview of the accompanying Heroin Diaries soundtrack that Sixx had kept hidden from everyone for months, only revealing it to his management company and label upon delivery of the final book manuscript. To create the soundtrack, Sixx worked with multi-talented musicians/producers DJ Ashba and James Michael, dubbed Sixx: A.M., who drew inspiration from chapters in the book. “We weren’t writing for radio,” said Sixx. However, radio seems to disagree, according to Clear Channel Director of Rock Programming Jim Richards, who heavily praised the lead single, “Life Is Beautiful” which is already top 40 on the rock radio charts despite only officially being serviced for playlists this week. Richard’s referred to the album as a complete body of work and drew comparisons with albums such as “Tommy” (The Who) and “The Wall” (Pink Floyd).

MTV Senior Executive Peter Baron announced that the literary work would be branded as an MTV/VH1 book and supported with a full range of “on channel, off channel and on-line” programming, including heavy support of the music video for “Life Is Beautiful,” which he showed to the media. In introducing the clip, which was also directed by Paul Brown, Baron described the video as “visually bringing the book to life,” by combining band performance with edgy animation of the book artwork.

Sixx also announced that 25% of all book royalties would go to benefit “Running Wild In The Night,” a charity that he began in association with Covenant House, Los Angeles. George Lozano, Executive Director of Covenant House LA, which helps rescue homeless and runaway youth from the street, called Nikki an “inspiration” and “role model” for the kids helped by his organization. To underscore the point, Lozano introduced Irwin Gonzalez, an 18-year old rescued by Covenant House, who said that because of people like Nikki who help provide an alternative to the lifestyle of the street through music, he had been given “the gift of hope.” Sixx, a former runaway himself, said he was drawn to the organization because “music gave me the opportunity to get off the streets and gave me something to live for.

Following the press conference, downtown Los Angeles experienced a 115-decibel tumbler when Sixx: A.M made their world premiere with a live set featuring 5 songs in front of the press and contest winners from radio & MySpace. The thundering sound was accompanied by synchronous visual projections of animation and artwork from the book.

Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star, The Soundtrack was written and produced by Sixx, James Michael and DJ Ashba under the moniker Sixx: A.M., as the dark, sonic companion to the book. The Heroin Diaries soundtrack will be in stores on August 21 via Eleven Seven Music with the book following on September 18 from MTV/VH1

For more information on Nikki Sixx, Heroin Diaries, Sixx: A.M. and Running Wild In The Night please visit http://www.nikkisixx.net.

Nikki Sixx was born Frank Feranna in San Jose, California, in 1958 and grew up in Seattle with his grandmother. At the age of seventeen, he sold his guitars and took a bus to Los Angeles, where he began hanging out in local clubs and playing in bands. He founded Mötley Crüe in 1981 with friend and drummer, Tommy Lee. As the cofounder, songwriter and bassist of one of Rock’s most notorious bad boy bands, Mötley Crüe, Sixx has achieved international success having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide, documented the band’s quintessentially decadent lifestyle in the best-selling 2001 autobiography and soon-to-be feature film, The Dirt, and had one of the top-grossing tours of 2005, with all four original members reuniting to play before an estimated one million people in the U.S. Sixx is an avid photographer, clothing designer with his Royal Underground line, author and primarily a songwriter who has written songs with Meat Loaf, Marion Raven, Drowning Pool, The Exies and Saliva.

I am not exactly sure what it is about Soulidium that I like so much. I can’t say they are breaking new ground musically. The music on Children of Chaos, is quite comparable to a lot of the metal music that is on rock radio stations today. Usually, I am not too fond of the modern approach to metal, but I am able to accept it in limited doses.

The band does have a little bit of a shock rock element going on, and I do have an affection for the whole horror element. The first time I saw a picture of singer, Michael McNight, I had to jump back for a second. Maybe its the whole vampire image, but nonetheless, it works for me. It is something different, even though the band’s sound isn’t exactly new. The band has also released a couple of videos using that creepy horror element to their advantage!

The Light

Drama

Soulidium has a sound that reminds me of a cross between Filter, Tool and Breaking Benjamin. There are a few songs on this disc, that I have grown to like pretty well including, Trapped, The Light, Live Forever and Drama. All of these songs are radio ready. In fact, I have heard The Light on Squizz on XMRadio.

My only problem with this disc is this, some of the songs are so bass centric, they tend to run together and lose their own individual identity. A lot of newer bands are guilty of this, and Soulidium is no exception.

Nonetheless, I think Soulidium will gain a moderate level of success with this release. I am glad I checked this one out.

For More information on Soulidium, check out their myspace page here , or their website here.

The first time I ever heard any tunes by Priestess, was on Kevin Kash’s Breaking Bone Hour, on XM41, The Boneyard.

Usually, I know most of the new bands that are being introduced, but strangely enough not Priestess. This Canadian quartet are one of the many bands that are pioneering the Retro Rock movement. I have heard a few people call this stoner rock, but I don’t know if I completely agree with that assessment.

There are some definite stoner like elements in the band’s music, but Hello Master sounds like a brand new classic rock/metal CD. I can hear the influence of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath in the band’s music, but they are not a copycat act by any means.

This 4 piece band is led by Mike Heppner on vocals, Dan Watchorn on guitar, Mike Dyball on bass, and Vince Nudo on drums. It took me a while to put my finger on it, but Mike Heppner’s vocals remind me of Glenn Danzig.

The songs Lay Down, Run Home, and Talk To Her are among my favorites and good selections for videos.

Lay Down

Run Home

Talk To Her

Hello Master appears to be one of those CD’s that grows on you with repeated listens. The songs, Time Will Cut You Down, I am the Night, Colour Me Black, and Blood have grown on me quite a bit.

This CD is one that classic rock fans, and quite a few hard rock fans are going to enjoy. Priestess will certainly be a band worth keeping an eye on in 2007. For information on Priestess, check out the band’s website here, or their myspace page here.

Rating: Out of 10

Track Listing:
1. I Am The Night, Colour Me Black
2. Lay Down
3. Run Home
4. Two Kids
5. Talk To Her
6. Time Will Cut You Down
7. Everything That You Are
8. The Shakes
9. Performance
10. Living Like A Dog
11. No Real Pain
12. Blood

Last night was the debut, 90 minute episode of VH-1’s, Rock of Love. Poison front man, Bret Michaels is trying to find love out of 25 girls, most of which appear to be artificially enhanced groupie chicks.

This show is a like a train wreck waiting to happen, but you can’t stop watching.

On up and coming shows, Bret is going to put the girls through some challenges as an effort to whittle down those that remain.

If last night’s show is any indication on how this season is going to go, I may find myself watching this, if anything, just to talk about the Bret Michaels’ Bimbos around the water cooler on Monday morning. It is definitely PG-13, so don’t let your kids watch this one.

Twisted Sister is one of the few popular 80’s hard rock bands that I never had the opportunity to see live. When they close out the Rocklahoma Music FestivalSunday Night, I am sure they will put on an incredible show.

Aside from their live performances that I watched on their recent DVD, Twisted Sister: The Video Years,Live at the Hammersmith was the only way I had to experience the energy of a live Twisted Sister show.

This CD captures one of the live shows during the band’s Stay Hungry tour at the Hammersmith Theater in London, and a couple of tracks from 1979 in Detroit before the band was signed. This CD doesn’t cut out anything. Dee Snider talks to the audience with plenty of expletives. More importantly, the band rocks, and rocks hard. What amazes me the most is how different the tempo is on the live songs, versus the studio recordings. The Live tracks are played heavier and faster, which tells me that Twisted Sister is a better live band, than the one you hear on the studio discs.

The covers of Jailhouse Rock and Train Kept a Rolling are very cool. This CD is the only place that I am aware of where you will here Twisted Sister perform these songs.

The Rocklahoma Music Festival will likely be successful enough to create several more of these open air type music festivals in the United States. When this event happens next year, hopefully Twisted Sister will return. Until then, I will enjoy Live at Hammersmith to get my fill of liveTwisted Sister. If you are a Twisted Sisterfan, don’t even hesitate picking this up. It is essential to your collection!

Rating: Out of 10

Track Listing: Disc: 1
1. What You Don’t Know (Sure Can’t Hurt You)
2. The Kids Are Back
3. Stay Hungry
4. Destroyer
5. We’re Not Gonna Take It
6. You Can’t Stop Rock N’ Roll
7. Knife In The Back
8. Shoot ‘Em Down
9. Under The Blade

In 2003, Vince Neil released a live CD, Live at the Whisky. Vince rarely plays his solo stuff live, and this CD is similar to the set I saw in Cincinnati. It was all Motley Crue tunes then, and this Live disc is all Motley Crue songs with the exception of Look In Her Eyes.

Tonight at 11:30 P.M., Vince Neil is taking the stage as the Headliner at the Rocklahoma Music Festival. I must admit that the show that I saw locally was far better than the set recorded at the Whisky. The band that he has with him now, Dana Strum and Jeff Blando from Slaughter, does a better job on the Motley Crue tunes that the band that Vince has with him on this release: Brent Wood (Wildside) on Guitar, Jamie Hunting (Union) on Bass, and Brent Fitz (Union) on Drums.

Even as a solo act though Vince Neil gives his all when performing Motley Crue tunes. When Vince and company takes the stage tonight, I am sure they will not disappoint too many people, unless of course people are expecting to hear tunes off of Exposed or Carved in Stone.

Vince Neil, Live at the Whisky is not Vince Neil’s best effort, but it is far from his worst. It is still fun to hear these songs performed live, even the though the band is no where near the caliber of Motley Crue.

You can check out the live version of the Exposed track, Look In Here Eyes below.

Breaking Benjamin kicks off their fall tour September 18th, in Pittsburgh, PA. The band will be performing in support of their current album Phobia. The tour will feature Breaking Benjamin and their co-headlining partner 3 Days Grace. Also appearing on the tour with Breaking Benjamin will be Seether, Live, and Collective Soul.